Method for adjusting the rolls of a roll stand and roll stand

ABSTRACT

A roll stand having at least two interacting working rolls. One of the working rolls is arranged in the roll stand in a displaceable manner for adjusting a roll gap, and the other working roll can be rotated in the roll stand in a working position, but for defining a passline in the direction normal to the surface of the roll material is non-displaceably fixed. To increase rolling accuracy: a) the position of the working roll arranged in a fixed manner in the roll stand is determined; b) the determined value of the position is compared to a target value; c) the working roll fixedly arranged in the roll stand is adjusted depending on the comparison value determined in step b) using at least one adjusting element such that the position of the working roll fixedly arranged in the roll stand at least largely reaches the target value.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Divisional Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/393,165, filed Feb. 28, 2012, which is a 371 of International application PCT/EP2010/005207, filed Aug. 25, 2010, which claims priority of DE 10 2009 039 501.6, filed Aug. 31, 2009, the priority of these applications is hereby claimed and these applications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to a method for adjusting the rolls of a roll stand, wherein the roll stand comprises at least two cooperating work rolls, wherein one of the work rolls is mounted movably in the roll stand for adjusting the roll gap, and wherein the other work roll in the roll stand is mounted rotatably in a working position but is held fixedly in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the in-process stock for defining a pass line. The invention also pertains to a roll stand with at least two cooperating work rolls. The inventive roll stand can be in particular a 6-high, a 20-roll, or a Z-high roll stand.

It is generally known that the work rolls mounted in a stand to roll the selected in-process stock—and the back-up rolls, which are usually also provided—can be arranged so that the “lower” rolls in the roll stand are fixed in place in a defined position in their chocks, so that a pass line is defined for the in-process stock. The “upper” rolls, however, are mounted so that they can be adjusted in the vertical direction to set the size of the roll gap between the two work rolls. Whereas appropriate adjusting means, which can be used to position the rolls in the desired or required vertical position, are therefore known for the “upper” rolls, this is not true for the “lower” rolls, because these should and must be unable to move vertically.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,809 and EP 0 513 946 A2 describe a device for leveling the upper edge of the lower work roll in roll stands by means of a pair of wedges with graduated steps underneath the lower roll chocks.

JP 08-229605 describes a roll stand with an upper and a lower work roll, each of which is designed with eccentric bushings at its ends, which are supported in worm gears, which are turned by adjusting motors to adjust the roll gap.

With respect to the position of the rolls in the roll stand, a great deal of effort is always expended to keep them as parallel to each other as possible, which is necessary not only to guarantee the production of rolled stock of sufficient quality but also to ensure the optimal operation of the devices downstream from the roll stand (e.g., deflecting rolls or coiling units). If the rolls are not parallel, the way in which the tension in the strip is distributed during the rolling process becomes distorted, and damaging axial forces develop in the roller bearings, which can lead to a loss of quality and increased wear.

When a roll stand is being designed, appropriate efforts are therefore made to ensure the parallelism of the rolls. The problem here is that, because of the size of the necessary components (which can be up to 20 m high and weigh up to 300 tons), the limits for the achievable accuracies and tolerances are quickly reached from an economic standpoint. During the installation of the slide plates, thrust pieces, chocks, and other necessary components, the tolerances add up to a largest possible and a smallest possible value.

In the normal case, therefore, the upper back-up roll is moved vertically together with the work roll to regulate the thickness (setting of the roll gap). During this process, the lower back-up roll and work roll remain in the position previously set before the start of rolling. The lower work roll is therefore held fixedly in place, and so that it can be positioned accurately, shims or movable auxiliary adjusting devices (adjusting wedges or spindles) are placed underneath. Because of the additive nature of the tolerances, however, the rolls can be out of parallel by up to 0.5 mm/m. Such lack of parallelism affects the rolling process, because other automatic controls such as the flatness control circuit depend on the measurements of the tension distribution over the cross section of the strip.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is therefore based on the goal of proposing a method which makes it possible to ensure that the rolls are precisely parallel, wherein both manufacturing tolerances and the lack of parallelism caused by different degrees of wear, which is another factor affecting the horizontal position of the rolls, can be compensated, as a result of which the rolling process can be more easily controlled.

The way in which the invention achieves this goal is characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

-   -   (a) determining the position of the work roll mounted fixedly in         the roll stand;     -   (b) comparing the determined position value with a nominal         value; and     -   (c) moving the work roll mounted fixedly in the roll stand by         means of at least one adjusting element as a function of the         comparison value determined in step (b), so that the position of         the work roll mounted fixedly in the roll stand matches or comes         at least very close to matching the nominal value.

The method is conducted preferably before the in-process stock is rolled. It is also recommended after a change of rolls.

Determining the position according to step (a) above is preferably carried out either on the barrel of the roll or at a reference point on the roll chock of the work roll mounted fixedly in the roll stand.

Determining the position according to step (a) above is carried out preferably at both axial ends of the work roll mounted fixedly in the roll stand.

Each of the work rolls is preferably supported by at least one back-up roll, wherein the adjustment according to step (c) above is carried out on the back-up roll of the work roll mounted fixedly in the roll stand. The adjustment is carried out preferably on the chock of the back-up roll.

The adjustment according to step (c) above, furthermore, is preferably carried out by the use of a tension/compression spindle with a combination of a right-hand and a left-hand thread. The use of shims or flat washers is also possible.

The roll stand with at least two cooperating work rolls, wherein one of the work rolls in the roll stand is mounted movably for adjusting the roll gap, and wherein the other roll in the roll stand is mounted rotatably in a working position but is held fixedly in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the in-process stock for defining a pass line, is characterized in that measuring means are present to determine the position of the work roll mounted fixedly in the roll stand; in that comparison means are present for comparing the determined position value with a nominal value; and in that at least one adjusting element is present for adjusting the work roll mounted fixedly in the roll stand as a function of the difference, found by the comparison means, between the determined value and the nominal value.

The measuring means can be positioned to measure the position of the barrel of the work roll. The roll chock can comprise a reference point for the measurement by the measuring means.

The measuring means can be permanently installed in the roll stand, or they can be mounted replaceably and used temporarily for the measurements.

The adjusting element is preferably a tension/compression spindle with a combination of a right-hand and a left-hand thread.

The invention is based on the idea of determining the position of the roll mounted fixedly in the roll stand, of comparing this value with a nominal value, and of correcting the deviation between the actual value and the nominal value by the use of an adjusting element before the in-process stock is rolled. The method is preferably carried out after a change of rolls.

Ideally, the position of the roll is detected at the barrel; alternatively, it can be determined at measurement points on the chocks. Movable or stationary sensors can be used to detect the position of the roll.

The adjusting elements can, in the simplest form, consist of flat washers, but they can also consist of individually adjustable auxiliary adjusting elements or of pairs of rotatable right-hand and left-hand threads, which are machined into compression/tension spindles. Such spindles for rolling mills are known from EP 1 601 475 B1. The drive or operating side of the roll stand is shifted or shimmed in such a way that the “fixed” roll reaches the nominal value precisely.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of the disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages, specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a roll stand with two work rolls and two back-up rolls; and

FIG. 2 shows part of the roll stand, seen in the rolling direction.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The figures show a roll stand 5, in which four rolls in all are installed, namely, two cooperating work rolls 1 and 2 and two back-up rolls 3 and 4. Each roll 1, 2, 3, 4 is supported in a chock and fastened in the roll stand 5, namely, the lower work roll 2 in the chock 7, the lower back-up roll 4 in the chock 12, the upper work roll 1 in the chock 10 and the upper back-up roll 3 in the chock 11.

The two lower rolls 2 and 4 are mounted in a “fixed” manner; that is, they are held at a height in the roll stand 5 such that the topmost point of the work roll 2 forms a pass line P for the in-process stock (not shown). To adjust the roll gap between the work rolls 1, 2, the lower work roll 2 therefore remains at the height at which it is mounted; meanwhile, the upper work roll 1 is shifted vertically in the roll stand 5 along with the back-up roll 3.

The following procedure is used to obtain the optimal adjustment of the rolls in the roll stand 5 before the stock is rolled:

First, the position S_(actual) of the work roll 2 held fixedly in the roll stand 5 is determined. For this purpose, a measuring means 8 is arranged in the roll stand 5. More precisely, two measuring means 8 are used, one of which is provided at each axial end of the roll (see FIG. 2). For example, a reference point 13 located on the chock 7 (see FIG. 1) can be measured; such a reference point is preferred.

The measured actual values S_(actual) (or S_(actual1) and S_(actual2)) of the roll position are then compared with a stored nominal value S_(nominal). A comparison means 9 is used for this purpose.

As a function of the difference found between the actual value and the nominal value, the work roll 2 is then shifted vertically in the roll stand 5. At least one, preferably two adjusting elements 6 are available for this purpose, which are used to adjust the height of the chock 7 of the work roll.

Indicated schematically in FIG. 2 are tension/compression spindles 6, which are provided with a combination of a right-hand and a left-hand thread, so that, when the spindle turns, the two axial ends of the spindle travel toward or away from each other. The adjusting distance is selected so that the position S of the work roll 2 held fixedly in the roll stand 5 assumes the nominal value S_(nominal).

It is obvious that the difference between the actual position and the nominal position determined by the comparison means 9 is converted into an adjusting movement by suitable open-loop or closed-loop control means, which are not shown in the figures.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles. 

I claim:
 1. A roll stand, comprising: at least two cooperating work rolls, wherein one of the work rolls is mounted movably for adjusting a roll gap, and wherein the other work roll is mounted rotatably in a working position but, for defining a pass line, is held fixedly in a direction perpendicular to a surface of in-process stock during rolling; measuring means for determining a position at a reference point on the work roll held fixedly in the roll stand; comparison means for comparing the determined position value with a nominal value; and at least one adjusting element operative to adjust a chock of the work roll mounted fixedly in the roll stand as a function of a difference, determined by the comparison means, between the determined value and the nominal value, wherein a pass line for the in-process stock is formed by a topmost point of the lower work roll.
 2. The roll stand according to claim 1, wherein the measuring means are positioned to measure the position of a barrel of the work roll.
 3. The roll stand according to claim 1, wherein the roll chock comprises a reference point for measurement by the measuring means.
 4. The roll stand according to claim 1, wherein the measuring means are mounted permanently in the roll stand.
 5. The roll stand according to claim 1, wherein the measuring means are mounted replaceably in the roll stand and used temporarily for measurements.
 6. The roll stand according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting element is a tension/compression spindle with a combination of a right-hand and a left-hand thread.
 7. The roll stand according to claim 1, wherein the roll stand is a 6-high roll stand.
 8. The roll stand according to claim 1, wherein the roll stand is a 20-roll stand.
 9. The roll stand according to claim 1, wherein the roll stand is a Z-high roll stand. 